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The Spoken Word

Today's tip for speakers

What’s your reason for speaking?

Before you speak or write a single word, you must determine what you want your audience to think, feel, or do as a result of your presentation. You may think this is common sense. It is, but it is not common practice. Most speakers skip this critical step, assuming “I know my material. I’ll say it and the audience will hear it; if they hear it, they’ll figure out the message.” Wrong. Your purpose will never be clearer to a listener than it is to you. That’s why I recommend you apply the “business card test.” As noted in a posting below (1-11-2008) you should write on the back of your business card exactly what you want the audience to think, feel, or do as a result of your presentation. Why use the back of a business card? See “The Business Card Test” entry below.

The Written Word

Today's tip for writers

Ending a sentence with “at”

We’ve all been admonished, “Never end a sentence with at.” True, there are times when you definitely should not; but there are also times when you should. It’s common to hear “Where is he at?” That’s simply wrong, but not for the reason most think. You may think it’s because “at” is a preposition and “you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition*.” But that’s not the reason. It’s merely because “at” in the sentence above is a redundancy. “Where is he?” says exactly the same thing, so adding “at” is simply superfluous. And your goal should be to have no unnecessary words. However, there are times when “at” is desirable at the end of a sentence. If you see someone looking at you, snickering, what are you going to say: “What are you laughing at?” Or, would you say “At what are you laughing?” I’d choose “What are you laughing at?” any day.

*If you still believe “you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition,” see the entry dated 3-8-2008 below.

The Spoken Word

Today's tip for speakers

How long does it take?

As a speechwriter, I am often asked “How long does it take to write a speech?” On average, I allow an hour of writing time for every minute of the finished speech. Therefore, a 45-minute keynote can take a full work week of writing time. Of course, most speakers rarely need to start from scratch, as most have standard stories that they insert into every speech. But if you have no stories, examples, or illustrations already in hand, if you are hiring a speechwriter, remember one minute of speech = one hour of writing.

The Written Word

Today's tip for writers

End with a preposition?

Do you remember an English teacher admonishing, “Never end a sentence with a preposition”? Guess what…it’s not a rule after all. There are many times in which a preposition is properly placed at the end of a sentence. For example, “from” is a preposition. And there is absolutely no reason you should not say “Where did that come from?” If you wanted to avoid the preposition at the end, you’d have to say (pretentiously), “From where did that come?” Or, to avoid that, you could say (even more pretentiously), “Whence came it?” Given the choice, I recommend “Where did that come from?” with the preposition proudly bringing up the rear.

The Spoken Word

Today's tip for speakers

The first 60 seconds

In his book You Are the Message, Roger Ailes says “Research shows that we start to make up our minds about other people within seven seconds of first meeting them. In the first seven seconds, we also trigger in each other a chain of emotional reactions, ranging from reassurance to fear.” Ailes says all this takes place in seven seconds; others say it occurs within the first minute or two. So whether it’s seven seconds or even seventy, you must start strong, because the audience is judging you…just that fast.